Utrecht, March 5, 2020 – New figures from Kadaster (The Netherlands’ Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency) show that growth in the mortgage market continued in the fourth quarter of 2019. This is mainly caused by the mortgage revenue increase among people taking out refinancing and additional loans. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the number of mortgages issued to this group grew by 26.1% compared to the preceding quarter. Over the whole of 2019, the mortgage market rose to a record high of €128 billion.
“This surprisingly strong growth is caused by a rise in the number of mortgages as well as a mortgage loan increase,” says IG&H Consultancy’s Joppe Smit. In 2019, the average mortgage loan increased by 6.5%, reaching € 326,000 – its highest point since 2006. Compared to 2018, the number of mortgages increased by 13.4% to 392,000 mortgages taken out. This growth is mainly caused by an increase in the number of mortgages among people taking out refinancing and additional loans (+35.9% compared to 2018).
First-time homeowners lag behind The mortgage revenue among first-time homeowners fell by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Compared to the third quarter of 2019, the number of mortgages taken out by first-time homeowners fell by 3.2%. The average mortgage loan among first-time homeowners, however, increased by 1.9% to €276,000, while it dropped among existing homeowners and those taking out refinancing and additional loans. “The number of mortgages only fell among first-time homeowners, and the average mortgage loan only increased among the same group,” says Joppe Smit. “This illustrates the difficult position they’re in.”
The majority of those taking out a mortgage is still made up of existing homeowners – with a market share of nearly 46%. However, those taking out refinancing and additional loans come increasingly closer with a market share of nearly 36%. Compared to the third quarter of 2019, the number of mortgages taken out, in particular, rose significantly (+26.1%) among those taking out refinancing and additional loans. Among existing homeowners, growth is less significant (+6.9%) compared to the third quarter of 2019.
Growth of Aegon’s and Munt’s market shares In the fourth quarter of 2019, banks lost a market share (-4.7 percentage points) among all groups of people taking out mortgages. Investment funds enabling non-bank lending benefited from this decline and grew their market share (+4 percentage points). “What’s notable is that the market share of the top 3 banks dropped to 48.9%, hitting the lowest level since 2016,” says Joppe Smit.
This quarter, there were several noteworthy shifts in the top 10 providers. Aegon and Munt moved up 3 spots, taking the 5th and 6th spot. MUNT Hypotheken increased by 2.2%, marking the highest increase in the market. As a result, it has strengthened its position in the top 10 of mortgage lenders. The biggest losers in the market were Florius (-1.9%) and Volksbank (-1.2%), which dropped to the 7th and 9th spots, respectively.
We hope you enjoy reading the Mortgage Update and welcome your response!
Sincerely,
Joppe Smit Director at IG&H E: joppe.smit@igh.com
T: 0031 6 2035 2438
IG&H Mortgage Update Authors & data analysis: Annelies Stemfoort (annelies.stemfoort@igh.com), Brenno Baas (brenno.baas@igh.com)
Corrected Kadaster figures Due to shortcomings in data provided previously, Kadaster corrected and then re-provided figures over the whole of 2019. The figures included in this Mortgage Update are based on the new figures. After consultation, we also corrected one mortgage lender’s production figures, as these didn’t include a significant part of the production – even after Kadaster’s correction.